Novella closes $21M Series A

Novella said on May 14 that it raised $21 million in a Series A round to expand an AI-powered wholesale insurance brokerage focused on excess-and-surplus lines. Brewer Lane Ventures led the financing, and the company said Box Group, Crystal Venture Partners, SV Angel, Avid Ventures, Verissimo Ventures, Blank Ventures and Arch also participated. The New York-based startup said it will use the money to hire brokers, add regional offices and keep building software that automates parts of the placement process. Max Kane, Novella’s co-founder and chief executive, said the company is trying to reduce the manual work around submissions, binding, policy review and related brokerage tasks. ### What exactly does Novella do inside the insurance market? Novella operates as a wholesale broker in the excess-and-surplus, or E&S, market, where retail agents place harder-to-insure commercial risks through specialty carriers and managing general agents. The company said it is licensed in all 50 U.S. states and has been appointed by close to 100 specialty carriers and MGAs to broker property-and-casualty business. (morningstar.com) More than 3,500 retail agencies are already appointed and sending business to the company, according to Novella’s announcement. Business Insurance reported on May 14 that Novella focuses on middle-market commercial property, general liability and excess casualty business, mainly in commercial real estate and hospitality. Kane told the publication that the brokerage began broadly operating in August 2025 after roughly a year spent building its technology platform. The company’s website says it offers E&S coverage for commercial property, general liability, hospitality, construction and other specialty risks. (morningstar.com) ### Which parts of the brokerage workflow is the company automating? Novella said its AI agents handle placement, binding, form comparison, policy review, subjectivity collection, inspections, billing, endorsements and renewals. Kane said the goal is to let producers spend more time with retail brokers and clients rather than on administrative work. “We believe pairing world-class producers with world-class AI is the recipe for success,” he said in the company’s announcement. (businessinsurance.com) Business Insurance quoted Kane saying the software reviews submission documents, summarizes risks, recommends markets and automates policy-review tasks while keeping brokers involved in the placement process. “These are not accounts people are buying from chatbots,” Kane told the publication. That framing matches Novella’s public materials, which describe faster quotes, live submission tracking and marketing reports for brokers rather than a fully self-serve placement model. (morningstar.com) ### Who backed the round, and what did investors say? Brewer Lane Ventures led the round, according to Novella and Coverager, with participation from Box Group, Crystal Venture Partners, SV Angel, Avid Ventures, Verissimo Ventures, Blank Ventures and Arch. The company did not disclose a valuation in the materials reviewed. (businessinsurance.com) Chris Downer, a general partner at Brewer Lane Ventures, said in Coverager that “wholesale broking, at heart, is about human relationships” and that producers need to stay close to retail brokers. Downer said Novella was “the first wholesaler to effectively blend AI and talent,” describing the company’s technology as a way to make brokers more productive rather than replace them. (coverager.com) ### How big is the business today? Novella said it has more than 3,500 retail agencies sending business through the platform and relationships with nearly 100 specialty carriers and MGAs. Kane told Business Insurance that the average premium per account is about $50,000 and is trending toward $100,000. He also said the company has about 20 employees, including seven brokers, and expects the brokerage team to double in the coming weeks. (coverager.com) The company was founded in 2024 by Kane, Chief Technology Officer Michael Tsibelman and Head of Brokerage Alex Broome. Novella said Kane previously worked at Lemonade, while Tsibelman led software teams at Microsoft, Gigya and DoControl, and Broome held positions at The Baldwin Group and ReShield. (morningstar.com) ### Where is the expansion happening next? In 2026, Novella opened offices in Miami and Houston, according to the company. Kane told Business Insurance that the company already has offices in New York, Miami and Houston and is considering a California office. Novella’s announcement and investor coverage both said Southern California is planned in the second quarter. (morningstar.com) Kane said Novella wants to become a top-five U.S. wholesale E&S broker with $10 billion of premium within the decade. The nearer-term milestones the company named are hiring more brokers, opening additional regional offices and continuing to build its AI platform as it expands from New York into Miami, Houston and Southern California. (morningstar.com)